Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-05-13

need galluseS on both eends o them
breeches, don't yer N sure's We live
the bottom o them pants, which hung
aroun' Sims ankles when he came in,
wuz more n half way to his knees, n a
reachin' fer 'em steady, gittin nearer n
nearer every minute n shown off his
Sims n calves to mighty good advantage,
tell ye. Sim he jest TUX one look down
to'ards tn floor, n seemed to lose all
sense to onct. He jest riz up, n two
steps TUX him to tn door, n that's tn
last we saw NV him till after tn weddin'.
"Gan pap
"Well, Polly"
'1s duclls1in Injun rubber?''
"Buckskin, child, buckskin. No, faint
lnjun rubber
Then why'd it draw up so in Sims
clothes!'
"Oh, why, We see, buckskin s deer
hide. tanned. bout like tn shammy skin
yer mother hez to rub tn winders with.
When it gets wet it stretches like a sin
ner's conscience. but it II go back about
like it wuz afore when it gifts dry. Sim
didn't know this. Comm cross tn
swamp he'd fell in n got wet, n pres
emily tn buckskin in his breeches
stretched out over his heels, n he Jest
out 18th his knife an cut it off. Purity
soon it heightened out some more. n he
whacked it off agin, so by tn time he got
t our house he'd chopped off right smart.
n when he set down fore tn fire n got
dried out, n tn buckskin gun to go back
where it b'longed, it nachurly left long
bare spot of skin. N that wuz what
wuz tn matter 18th Janey when she saw
tn pranks his breeches WIZ aplayin him,
n him not KNOWN it. But t didn't
make much difference to her. fer she
married Dick next quart 'rly meetin' day,
n they went to housekeepin' S | told We.
Didn't take long to build house, then,
neither. All tn neighbors too help'd run
up cabin n two days. Didn't have
many tools, neither; jest axes, a saw n
auger, II froe. The houses wllzn't
purity t look at, but mighty conf t'ble,
II heap sight better n n Injun wig
wam."
dick n Janey lived near us much's
four or five years. n then Dick thought
things WIZ gittin' too crowded like, n
he ups anu moves off to Indiana. Mother
WIZ awful sorry to see Janey go so fur
away, n tried to scare Dick out by tell
ing about tn Injuns not much further
West II they WIZ going; but 'twasnt a
mite O use; they went. They did see
lnjuns, too, but never got killed. Fact
is. tn lnjuns got scared most to death
right III Dick S cabin one night n from
all what | could hear it had right smart
heap o influence on the keepin' O. peace
t one time. Dick he'd managed t. git
out from tn rest NV tn settlement; he'd
gone to n a little furder west. | s'pose
cause he WIZ SO fond o. huntin', N
thought ez the game WIZ bein drove
west. he wanted t git next to it, He
built him cabin like all tn rest o tn
folks in them days. 1t had puncheon
floors n shake roof-that means made
out O clapboards n put on til rafters,
n then poles put cross t. weight em
down. Well, first fail they moved out
there they wuz some talk O. Injun troubles,
n finally bout a dozen o tn best hunt
ers they got t gether n thought they'd
scout round toward tn Injun towns
north o them an see f they'd find any
lnjun sign. They wuz gone bout a
week, n got back s fur s Dicks house
one evenin', when it began ralnin'-iest
drlzzly like. 1t w least ten miles to tn
settlement n the boys w all tired, n
they thought it nd be best to stop till
mornin at Dicks house. When tn
troubles begun he'd moved all his family
back to tn settlement, n KEEP EN- there
fur fear o trouble. But he'd left some
things about the house, n when the scouts
struck it they thought the'd hev
nice time; all the more SO because they
hadn't seen no 1njuns nor no signs NV
fat Dutchman, who wuz tn hest woods
man n Injun fighter n tn whole lot n
liked pipe better he did bible. Jake
he'd seen signs o Injuns in tn woods that
afternoon, an then he'd had dream O.
seeing his wife, n that he said wuz sure
sign he'd see Injuns first. So he told the
boys 'twouldn't do to build a fire in tn
cabin, s they meant to, n cook some
bacon they'd found upstairs, cause tn
lnjuns d he sure to see tn light n smell
tn bacon, n then tn boys'd git into
sight o trouble. TIL boys didn't like to
give up warm supper, but Jake Jest
made EN- do it, n they ct supper O.
dried venison n parched corn, which wuz
all they'd took along to live on. Then he
made EN- go to bed in tn loft, n he wus
tn last man to climb up tn ladder n wus
mighty careful t wipe out emmy sign S
might been made in tn cabin down stairs
They wuz lot O. corn piled up in tn loft
to dry, jest pulled off in tn husks n scat
tered over tn floor. Jake made tn boys
all lay down n a row under tn caves
over the door, n he laid down last. TIL
boys WIZ tired, n purity soon all wuz
asleep, all but Jake. He didn't like tn
looks o things much n he laid awake
steddyn' 'em over. After awhile he heard
boot owl way off. Purity soon another
owl answered it. Next time it wuz
wolf, n a second wolf howled back Jake
thought it kinder funny, n he listened.
Fore long tn howls n tn wolves got
close together, n finally they seemed to
meet n tn clearin', front o tn house.
Then Jake knowed it wuz Iniuns, n
nudged tn man next to him. n 'twasn't
more n a mint fore every man wuz
wide awake n listenin' 18th both ears.